Bailing out the gatekeepers

With another dismal state revenue forecast expected today, House Democratic leaders now say they’ll likely propose sending voters a tax package this year to help deal with a staggering shortfall in the state budget.

“I’m assuming there will probably be something that goes on the ballot,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler agreed.

Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen and Scott Campbell, publisher of The Columbian in Vancouver, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee they need help during tumultuous times in the industry.

Under the proposed measure, the business and occupation tax on newspapers would be cut by 40 percent through 2015.

Yes, newspapers are important. But really? Someone is seriously considering yanking, in effect, money that could be used in my kids’ classroom to keep publishers like Blethen and Campbell in business?

So all that right-wing agit-prop about free markets and how terrible unions are was just a joke, or what? Why don’t they ask Don Brunell for the money, he’s been placing columns in The Columbian for years now. I’d say he owes them.

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The irony of John saying in this blog post that newspapers aren’t important enough to receive help is that John once again GOT THE INFORMATION FROM THIS POST FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES! HIS LINKS QUOTE THE SEATTLE TIMES!

1. Troll spews: The irony of John saying in this blog post that newspapers aren’t important enough to receive help is that John once again GOT THE INFORMATION FROM THIS POST FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES! HIS LINKS QUOTE THE SEATTLE TIMES!

Excellent point.

I wonder if john feels the same way about liberal newspapers getting bailouts.

Will john write about the new york times needing to outsource their funding to mexico?

@2 So what? History is full of injustices. Southern Democrats, to their ever-lasting shame, also lynched thousands of blacks. Thank God these swine are in your party now. We don’t tolerate their kind anymore.

While we are dropping the useless silent “h” out of names, we might as well make a few other common-sense adjustments to the English language.

For example, where I grew up we saw the need for a second-person plural pronoun. Early on our ancestors invented “you-all”, but it was shortened to “ya’ll”, and now it is more simply spelled “yall”. Personally, I find it preferable to “you guys”, which is prevalent here in the Northwest, but “you guys” is not only rather crass and crude in tone, but innaccurate – a guy is a male, a gal is a female, and therefore “you guys” could only apply to a collection of males.

The irony of John saying in this blog post that newspapers aren’t important enough to receive help is that John once again GOT THE INFORMATION FROM THIS POST FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES! HIS LINKS QUOTE THE SEATTLE TIMES!

I TOLD YOU SO! Months ago, while Gregoire was campaigning on no new taxes to get re-elected, I TOLD YOU the scam was the Legislature would bring something to the ballot holding out tear-jerking items like Health Insurance for the working poor as hostage for a blank check BAILOUT of their overspending debacle. IT’S CALLED EXTORTION and that is precisely and predictably what they are doing.

My question is simple: Gregoire clearly said NO NEW TAXES. Where is she is this discussion?? As a leader who stands by her word (ha-ha), Gregoire should be leading the charge AGAINST what the Legislature is proposing to do. Yet she remains silent. What a scam.

While we are dropping the useless silent “h” out of names, we might as well make a few other common-sense adjustments to the English language.

For example, where I grew up we saw the need for a second-person plural pronoun. Early on our ancestors invented “you-all”, but it was shortened to “ya’ll”, and now it is more simply spelled “yall”. Personally, I find it preferable to “you guys”, which is prevalent here in the Northwest, but “you guys” is not only rather crass and crude in tone, but innaccurate – a guy is a male, a gal is a female, and therefore “you guys” could only apply to a collection of males.

Thank you for your assessment but I think the issue hear is TAX INCREASES. Hey, it all comes down to what the role of government ought to be in our lives. Like our Founding Fathers, I am a Minimalist. Unabashed. We have reached the “tipping point”. Somethings got to give. Do we continue to grow the size, cost and reach of government….or do we say “Enough is enough” and start shrinking it? Gregoire ought to start by eliminating 1/2 her staff and cut salaries and benefits by 20% of those remaining.

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